How does music affect the visual image on screen? This class will study the effects of music in film. From the classic cinema of Casablanca to a modern thriller like The Adjustment Bureau, the class will study how music fashions one’s interpretation of characters and plot in a movie. For example: with the use of only two notes in the score to Jaws, the audience knows there is a great shark lurking nearby. Students will learn about character interpretation and how a theme can work “with” or “against” such an interpretation. In effect, the class will break down and study the subtle elements in music that shape a movie. Students will also learn how music can be its own character in a movie. The course will examine movies such as Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Vertigo, Chinatown, Cinema Paradiso, and Star Wars.